


Your Heart Is Filled With Wanderlust

by LastOneOut



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Friendship, Introspection, Late Night Conversations, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Running Away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 09:22:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9649586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LastOneOut/pseuds/LastOneOut
Summary: They sat for a while, passing the food between them, saying nothing. Pidge stared at the stars, feeling that powerful longing tugging at her gut. The earth below her felt small, like a stepping stone, gravity barely anchoring her to its surface. She wanted to push off, but something stronger kept pulling her back and holding her down. She could almost see the light of the small town she called home, the off-white glow on the horizon of houses and stores seemed to be her whole world now. Everything that mattered held in the confines of a desert mountain range on a small blue dot floating through space.





	

The desert was quiet. Of course, most places were in the middle of the night, but as the clock ticked closer to 1am the crickets and cicadas silenced their cries, and even the lone coyotes and wolves ceased their howling. The air fell still, no longer shaking through the dry branches and grass. Perfect silence.

Pidge hated it. The endless quiet. In the years since Voltron had ‘officially’ retired, Pidge and the others had returned to their homes on earth, enjoying their long deserved rest and reconciliation with their families and friends. It was nice, at first. Pidge's family had been broken apart for so long, and for a while it seemed that she would never tire of their time together.

But as the days turned to months turned to years she found herself feeling restless. She would spend hours staring at the sky, day and night, imagining the worlds and galaxies that once were at her fingertips. Thousands of places no human had ever seen, systems filled with stars and nebulas and planets. She had to admit that she missed it. She would wonder how Allura and Coran were. How the diplomatic work was going. If the mice were happy, if the Olkarians had invented new tech, if Slav was finally relaxed in this reality. Sometimes she would think about writing to them, but she never did, almost scared to hear from them again. To see how far they had gone without her. 

And the others, her fellow Paladins. They had stayed in touch, for the most part anyway. It was hard, when you were so far apart, so busy. Even Shiro and Keith, who had ended up living not far from the Holt’s residence, felt miles away. Did they miss her the way she missed them? Did they look to the sky too, longing for adventure? She liked to think they did. And she made peace with that, knowing that if they felt the same as she and stayed strong then she could too. Just tough it out until everything felt normal again.

And it almost worked. But as her 18th birthday finally rolled around, she broke. 18 was an exciting year in earth terms. She was an adult now, free to come and go as she pleased. But after everything she had been through, she felt more mature than her years, and the number was just that, a number. While she spent the hours taking calls from extended family and opening presents, she felt like an empty robot, only going through the motions.

That night she decided that she couldn’t take it anymore. She packed her bags, everything she needed fitting into her duffle and backpack, and snuck her way downstairs. She grabbed food, and scribbled out a quick note to her family, apologizing and begging them not to worry. She would be back, she would be safe. If they needed her they knew who to call.

As she hopped on her bike and felt the hot night air blow against her face she finally felt some of the heaviness leave her chest. She felt as young and powerful and infinite as she truly was. Even the burn in her legs and the weight of the bags digging into her shoulder felt like a blessing, the pain harsh and real, knocking her out of her foggy, depressed state.

She biked for hours, eventually turning off the road and pushing her way through the wild desert underbrush. When a large mesa came into view, she couldn’t help the elated smile that split her face. She could feel a warm, kind and incredibly inquisitive presence push a the back of her consciousness. The Green Lion.

She peddled harder, careening almost dangerously down the steep hill to the cave where her old friend now lay hidden. When they had left the Castle the Paladins had assumed they would be leaving their lions. But Allura reasoned that just because Voltron wasn’t needed now didn’t mean it would never be needed again, and it was safer to have the Lions where they could get to them quickly. Bsides, it almost felt like she was leaving part of herself with them. A silent reminder of what they had been through, and a hopeful promise that they would meet again someday. 

She jumped off her bike, letting it fall to the dirt where she stood, and ran into the cave, grinning as Green came into view. She nearly cried as she came to a stop in front of her friend, reaching up and patting her affectionately on the paw.

“Heya Green. Did ya miss me?” A soft purr echoed in her mind, along with a gentle reprimand.

 _‘Where have you been?,’_ Green asked, _‘I’ve been waiting.’_

She sighed at the familiar voice, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to stay away this long.”

_‘I knew you would come back, my Paladin.’_

Pidge smiled, lifting her bags, “So, what’d ya say, girl? Wanna get out of here?”

The response was instant. With a loud purr Green leaned down and opened her mouth, allowing Pidge access to the cockpit. She stepped into the entryway, feeling more at home than she had in years, but froze when she heard footsteps echoing off the walls.

“Hey! Who's there!?” She jumped a the loud voice, quickly diving off of Green and pulling her bayard from her bag. She crouched down behind Green’s open jaw and waited. A flashlight beam darted around the cavern, and she ducked lower as it passed over her head.

“I said, who’s there!?” A tall figure emerged from the shadows, and Pidge shifted, ready to defend herself, before she noticed the red jacket and bad haircut that could only be one person.

“Keith, it’s me, Pidge!” She shouted, standing and waving.

“Pidge? Sheesh I could have killed you.” He said, tucking his light away. She shrugged, and he eyed her bayard, “Well, I guess the feeling’s mutual. What are you doing out here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” She countered.

He sighed, “...I don’t know, actually. I kept feeling Red in my mind, nagging like she wanted me to do something. I thought if I came out here I might figure it out.” He looked back at the far end of the cavern that lead to his lion’s hiding place and raised his voice, clearly annoyed, “But she seems to be pretty quiet now!”

“Maybe she just wanted to see you?” Pidge offered.

“Sure.” He deadpanned, “What about you? Hanging out in the middle of nowhere at night isn’t exactly how most people spend their birthdays.”

“You remembered my birthday?”

“Yeah?” He asked like it was obvious.

“Oh...well, I just wanted to visit Green. I missed her, ya know?”

He glanced back to where Red was hiding, and was silent for a moment. Eventually he nodded, “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“Hey...” She asked, “Are you hungry? I've got left-over cake.”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

She pulled her blanket and a tupperware out of her backpack, hastily kicking he duffle further out of Keith's sight. Together they made their way to the front of the cave. Pidge spread the blanket out and sat, patting the space beside her until Keith sunk down as well.

Pidge popped the lid off of the container and offered it to Keith. “Sorry,” She said, “I’ve only got one fork.” He shrugged and took a bite.

They sat for a while, passing the food between them, saying nothing. Pidge stared at the stars, feeling that powerful longing tugging at her gut. The earth below her felt small, like a stepping stone, gravity barely anchoring her to its surface. She wanted to push off, but something stronger kept pulling her back and holding her down. She could almost see the light of the small town she called home, the off-white glow on the horizon of houses and stores seemed to be her whole world now. Everything that mattered held in the confines of a desert mountain range on a small blue dot floating through space.

“Keith...” She asked, her voice quiet.

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever think about...about leaving?” He looked at her expectantly so she continued, “I mean like...leaving earth.” She clarified, toying with the rim of the empty container.

“Sometimes, I guess. I think we all do.”

“Then why haven’t we?”

“Hm...I mean, you and Hunk and Lance are back with your families, back home. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Yes...it was. Once. Now I’m not so sure.” He waited for her to continue so she let the worries and wonders tumble out of her like a waterfall, “I just...I did want to find my family. For years all I could think about was my brother and father alive and happy and home with my mom and I. And it was nice for a while. I was so glad to have them all back. I missed earth too, sure I never liked the outdoors much but the food and the movies and the places...I even missed myself.” She laughed at the thought, “Silly little Katie with long hair and big dreams. I missed being her. I guess I thought once I was here things could go back to the way they were, but they can't. And I can’t change how I feel...I’ve tried.”

“How do you feel?” He asked, his voice gentle.

“I feel like I’m trapped.” She said, slamming the tupperware down hard and groaning, “Like I keep wanting to breathe and I can't. I look at the stars and it’s like...it’s like they’re mocking me. I mean they are huge balls of gas millions of miles away but...I’m stuck down here while they’re out there. I want to be millions of miles away. I want to see it all. And I can’t...” She sniffed loudly and covered her face, mortified by the sudden tears.

“Sorry...” She mumbled, “I know this is dumb...”

But Keith didn’t laugh or tell her she was being as stupid and childish as she felt. Instead he reached over and gently pulled her hands away from her face. She looked at him, his understanding eyes boring holes into her. She didn’t turn away, she felt drawn in, and when he spoke his voice was sympathetic.

“Katie...why did you come out here tonight?”

“Take a wild guess.” She said bitterly.

"You're leaving?" She nodded, and he sighed, “I thought so.”

“Are you going to try to stop me?”

“No,” He said, smirking, “Hold on.”

He stood, running back into the cave. Pidge watched, bewildered, before laughing as he came into view. He had a large bag slung across his back, his bayard just barely sticking out of the top, and another bag in his hand. He had re-tied his old red scarf over his mouth, but she could still see the hopeful grin he was sporting under it.

“Do you think you’ve got room for one more?”

“Possibly, though I'm not planning on robbing any banks.” She said, holding back laughter and pointing at his mask. For a moment he looked offended before walking up to her and giving her a playful glare.

“Excuse me, this look got me in and out of a high-security garrison camp unnoticed.”

“I think Lance, Hunk and I were the reason you got out of that camp, actually.”

“That’s not how I remember it.”

“Hmmm, well I have a way to settle this, if you’re game?”

“I’m listening.”

She smirked evilly, reaching down and grabbing her blanket and dishes. “Race 'ya to the moon.”

She hardly waited for his reply, dashing past him. “Hey!” He called, tripping over himself to catch up with her. “That’s not fair!”

“Sure it is!” She shouted back. When she reached her lion she grabbed her bags, haphazardly slinging them over her shoulders. She jumped back into Green’s mouth and stopped for a second, turning back to look at Keith. “Besides,” She yelled, “Red’s the fastest lion, right? This should be an easy win!”

“Oh it is so on!” He yelled as he finally ran past her, and Pidge laughed, climbing up into Green’s cockpit. The lights came up as she took her seat, the air filled with wiring and beeps as her lion fully powered up. The controls slid into place in front of her, and she took them, sighing at the familiar feeling. This was where she belonged. Sure, finding the lions and Allura and saving the universe may have just been one big accident, but she couldn’t help but believe that something, somewhere had meant for her to be there. To be a Paladin, to be Green’s Paladin. Nothing had ever felt so right.

Pidge felt the ground shake as Red shot out of the cave past her. She grinned, pushing the controls forward, lifting Green off of the ground and out into the sky.

“Come on, girl, let's see what's out there." 

**Author's Note:**

> I just see so many stories where the Paladins return to earth and give up being Voltron and it never sits right with me. So have my fanon-complaint oneshot. Besides, who doesn't love the idea of Pidge and Keith romping on a wild trip through the universe?


End file.
